Funding approved to begin construction of Giant Magellan Telescope

Science : The first of three proposed giant optical telescopes is poised to begin construction. The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), which will be located at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, will have a mirror 25 m across, more than twice the size of any other current optical or IR telescope. The GMT is backed by a consortium of 11 international organizations, which yesterday committed the first $500 million for the $1 billion project. Once up and running, the GMT’s imaging capability will be 10 times sharper than that of the Hubble Space Telescope. The GMT is the first of a new generation of telescopes that will allow astronomers to “look deeper into space and further back in time than ever before,” according to a press release . With it, astronomers will be able to learn more about the early universe and delve into the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.